Dark Days on Galapagos

Travel Blog  •  Julia Ross  •  02.04.08 | 10:33 AM ET

sealionPhoto by mikebaird via Flickr (Creative Commons).

Unsettling news out of the Galapagos Islands: The BBC reports on the mysterious killing of 53 sea lions in the islands’ nature reserve. While poachers have been known to target the animals for their skin and teeth—prized ingredients in Chinese medicine—that doesn’t seem to be the case here, and park officials are at a loss to explain the slaughter. The tragedy hits the Galapagos at an uncertain time, with green groups warning that the islands’ unique ecosystem is suffering under a sharp increase in tourism.

The New York Times has reported that visits to the islands jumped 250 percent from 1990 to 2006, with fewer and fewer tourists leaving their cruise ships to support the local economy. “What we have here is an unsustainable model of development,” an official with the Charles Darwin Foundation told the Times.

Unfortunately tourists aren’t the only threat lurking in the Galapagos these days; perhaps Ecuadoran officials should consider beefing up wildlife patrols as well.

Tags: Eco Travel, Islands, South America, Ecuador, News and Briefs

Julia Ross is a Washington, DC-based writer and frequent contributor to World Hum. She has lived in China and Taiwan, where she was a Fulbright scholar and Mandarin student. Her writing has appeared in the Washington Post, Time, Christian Science Monitor, Plenty and other publications. Her essay, Six Degrees of Vietnam, was shortlisted for "The Best American Travel Writing 2009."


3 Comments for Dark Days on Galapagos

John M. Edwards 02.04.08 | 12:19 PM ET

Hi Julia:

That’s sad about the sea lions in the Galapagos. I agree that every effort should be made to preseve this unique and fragile ecosphere. Even if it means that we can’t actually see it personally. I hardly agree with the island’s most famous visitor, Charles Darwin, though. Even though “biodiversity” created a unique playland for wildlife here (mostly birds, sea turtles, and the usual suspects), there is a larger issue here. Evolution is overrated. If man descended from the apes, then why are the apes still here?

Jack from eyeflare.com 02.04.08 | 1:47 PM ET

This is absolutely awful! I really hope the perpetrators are caught and severely punished.

And that visits to the islands are very limited from now on - currently the tourist parade is killing the place.

I hate to say it, but maybe if it cost $10,000 to visit, the place could be saved for future generations?

Nicole 02.04.08 | 5:25 PM ET

Some tourists are paying $10,000 to visit, and they tend to be the ones harming the islands the most.  I was fortunate enough to spend a week on the islands with an Ecuadorian school group 2 years ago.  The seals were so used to humans they swam within two feet of us as we snorkeled.  The best way to see is the islands is educationally, supplementing the required, certified guide with a biology professor from the mainland and to stay in the villages overnight (good for their economy, good for the ocean).

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